Frames or tables?

[spoweb]

Which makes a better layout? Using Frames and loading about four different files or use tables and have to add a whole lot more code? I use frames, but they all load at different times. Most of the page is finished loading, but one sidebar is still white.

[stalker]

i find that frames look a lot better overall than tables. Plus tables use a lot more code.

I'd probably be able to help a bit more if i new what you were trying to code?

[bizzard]

I don't prefer using frames. Some browsers won't support it and the page will look very different in different resolutions and different browsers. Though tables use a lot more code, it loads much faster than the frames....
If you use frame for a navigation bar, which must always be displayed with the page, try creating a CSS or javascript navigation menu, which reduces the code considerably.

[spoweb]

Yeah, well actually I've stopped using both frames AND tables. Well, I still use tables a little...Now I'm using layouts with full CSS. No tables. No frames. All CSS. I do notice though that the page looks slightly different between IE and Firefox, but still looks ok. Thanks for the replies!

[wired076]

I agree with spoweb it is best practice to now use pure css to format html pages and gives you much more flexibility. It takes a little time to get used to using css properly but if used correctly makes a lot less code in the long run as you can create external css files that if you change the css file will change the layout of the whole site instead of having to reduplicate all the code throughout the site and then change the code on all the pages when you make an edit.

[buyingit]

I WILL ALWAYS RECOMMEND
use php include function & use tables for loading pages

this will load at the sametime & also be a better & faster option for you

try it out
all the best

[snoop1990]

Originally Posted by buyingit

I WILL ALWAYS RECOMMEND
use php include function & use tables for loading pages

Me too ! Because you do not need frames which might cause incompatibility errors and you have less code as well as better options for interactivity.

At the moment I use ruby on rails and want to integrate AJAX to be even faster.

[wired076]

I would never recommend using frames either.

Tables are a good starter for new users but using css is the best way to format your site and tell everything where it should be located.

[snoop1990]

Originally Posted by wired076

using css is the best way to format your site

I tried learned css in the past two weeks and have to say it is much more comfortable then tables.

The reason are:
-no more bothering with colspan and rowspan issues
-each cell can have its own dimensions
-you can overlay parts (which is impossible with tables)

reasons against:
-I do not know any wysiwyg editor for css based designs (but I do not think a wysiwyg editor is the right choice for professional developer)

So I can only recommend to use css based layouts for your sites.

[bizzard]

I have also shifted to php along with CSS. Its much better than using frames. Creating different pages for each part of the site and including it to a single page with <? include ''?> code looks so simple.

[snoop1990]

Yes, that is the point on my side to ! I recreated a side a friend of mine designed some years ago using pure html. I added a css layout and in the end we have half the lines of code and it also looked even better. So Css really is a thing you should use if you want to design your own homepage.

Regrades Snoop1990

[bizzard]

I redesigned my site too with CSS and PHP. With PHP, it was much easier and it reduced the size of pages. Since I used <? include ''?> option of php for displaying Ads and the navigation bar, it will be easier to make the changes in the ad code applicable to all pages.

But, CSS displays the page different in Linux and Windows even in the same firefox browser... Main problems are with the width and other sizes.

[bizzard]

I redesigned my site too with CSS and PHP. With PHP, it was much easier and it reduced the size of pages. Since I used <? include ''?> option of php for displaying Ads and the navigation bar, it will be easier to make the changes in the ad code applicable to all pages.

But, CSS displays the page different in Linux and Windows even in the same firefox browser... Main problems are with the width and other sizes.

[snoop1990]

Originally Posted by bizzard

But, CSS displays the page different in Linux and Windows even in the same firefox browser... Main problems are with the width and other sizes.

Yes, I noticed the same thing. It is horrible how different all those browsers are and it takes me a long time to figure out how to design my side until it looked at least similar on all the different browsers.

[bizzard]

I too have much problems with it. So, is there any way to have different CSS codes for different browsers and even different Operating systems?

[snoop1990]

Originally Posted by bizzard

I too have much problems with it. So, is there any way to have different CSS codes for different browsers and even different Operating systems?

You can do that using javascript, request the browser name and then dynamical choose the right style codes (css). That should fix your problem !

[tronador]

Dont use frames, use tables, divs tags and CSS instead, if you want a very nice site use Javascript and AJAX libraries as JQuery and Mootools

[zztech]

Yup, I agree with Tronador. No one uses frames anymore. They're too cluttery. Tables are a possible choice, but I prefer CSS because it is more versatile. Plus, if you've got Dreamweaver, the CSS should be incredibly easy, which is how I've avoided properly learning CSS.